The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is exploring the use of robotics to complement existing security measures at public transport nodes. A roving robot with surveillance capabilities will be deployed during ‘Exercise Station Guard, which is being carried out at the North East Line’s Hougang Station today.
2 Developed by ST Engineering, the roving robot is equipped with cameras for 360-degrees surveillance. Using sensors and an in-built GPS, it is able to patrol a designated area which is pre-set into its system. During Exercise Station Guard, the robot will be deployed around the vicinity of Hougang Station to test its navigational and surveillance capabilities.
3 The robot’s control console will be set up within LTA’s Incident Response Vehicle (IRV) to test its potential to complement on-site surveillance needed for public transport incident management. This autonomous platform, when fully developed, can also be integrated with video and audio analytics technologies for enhanced surveillance purposes.
4 The IRV enhances LTA’s situational awareness when deployed on-site during major incidents and events. The IRV is equipped with telecommunications equipment and deployable camera system which will transmit "live" footage from the site back to LTA’s Land Transport Operations Centre.
5 The trial deployment of the robot is part of LTA’s efforts to leverage advancing technology when enhancing our security measures at public transport nodes. The use of un-manned robots could potentially complement the deployment of security officers in the future.
6 Exercise Station Guard is a regular emergency preparedness exercise carried out with public transport operators in line with the SGSecure national movement to strengthen resilience and security of the public transport network. Through these exercises, LTA reviews and validates public transport operators’ security measures, contingency plans and operational readiness in the event of security threats at public transport nodes.
